...
Yet you would only be interested in dim_Product and dim_SalesDivision; like an SQL statement, Tableau will also need to process all the joins before it can reach the data you require.
So what is the benefit to me in writing SQL rather than using the data model, especially if both are processed the same? As far as I can tell, they both achieve the same yet the Custom SQL method takes longer to build.You are correct in this assumption and, at least for this first point, if everything you need already exists in one table, then you would probably benefit more from a straight connection, however, what if your dashboard is comprised of charts that cover different aspects of your data? It would be tempting to just build this complete db model into your Tableau data model.
...